The events roughly went as such. After listening, Bai Sui could only sigh in lament.

It was so damn melodramatic!

It was practically a classic trope of adulterous partners cheating behind the honest man's back, only to be counter-killed by the furious honest man.

If this were in her previous life, it would have caused an uproar, enough to stir up a storm of condemnation online for ten days to half a month; there would be plenty of people defending the honest man.

Of course, this was the cultivation world, where the spread of information is limited by geography, so such overwhelming public sentiment could not be stirred up.

Coupled with the swift vengeance and letting emotions out on the spot, it fit the narrative style of settling matters then and there.

As for what would happen to the Cui-surnamed cultivator afterward, she was too lazy to think about it, nor could she control it.

The cultivation world has no physical government, so naturally there was no issuing of warrants.

Cao Dagen died, and however miserably he died, Cultivator Cui at most couldn't return to Spirit Water Village. He could completely sneak off to some other remote place to continue living, merely leaving a shadow in his heart. On the contrary, that Cao Dagen not only lost his life here, but also left a highly talked-about topic in Spirit Water Village.

As for Wu Xue'e, the female lead of this incident, she had actually survived by luck.

Or perhaps that Cultivator Cui ultimately couldn't bear to kill her.

In any case, she could no longer live in this village. No one knew where her future lay.

One must take responsibility for their own decisions. This was the path she chose herself, blaming no one else.

The melon was fully ripe, and the melon-eaters all ate with great relish.

But Bai Sui felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

Not only did this incident itself shock her moral values, making her uncomfortable, but also because earlier she had kindly thought for Wu Xue'e, suspecting she had been coerced.

The result told her that Pan Jinlian really was Pan Jinlian.

She had been overly sentimental.

This incident was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing ripples in the lake of Bai Sui's heart.

But for Spirit Water Village, especially for the cultivators living here, it wasn't really a big deal.

The sun still rose, and life had to go on!

It was simply that one cultivator died, one cultivator fled, and a disgraced woman had no place to stay.

Afterward, Bai Sui even went to see the murder scene.

It could only be described with one word: horrific!

The scene was a mess, the house collapsed leaving only ruins, having lost any value for repair; it could only be torn down and rebuilt. And though Cao Dagen's body had been collected, the bloodstains all around attested to everything that had happened here.

This incident touched Bai Sui quite deeply. A bloody lesson taught her a truth:

Do not fail to do good because it is small; do not do evil because it is small. If kindness is merely indulging those who push further when given an inch, then allowing a little evil in the world might not be unacceptable.

Especially how terrifying an honest person can be when pushed too far!

Also, were the cultivators who arrived at the scene really unable to stop the tragedy from happening?

Or did they vaguely know something and emotionally stand on the opposite side of Cao Dagen?

After all, cultivators' perception far surpasses ordinary people, and they all lived nearby. Cao Dagen and Wu Xue'e had been having an illicit affair for nearly half a year. With Cao Dagen's rough personality, it would be hard to hide it from everyone's ears and eyes.

* * *

At noon, Bai Sui went to the Tian household, planning to give the Qi Drawing Art to Tian Dong according to the agreement.

It turned out that after being disrupted by the morning's events, although Bai Sui had met Uncle Tian, she was so engrossed in the gossip, and with Tian Dong not seen at the scene, she had completely forgotten about the Qi Drawing Art.

It wasn't until lunch when she slapped her forehead that she suddenly remembered.

But she went at a very inconvenient time; Tian Dong and Uncle Tian had gone into the mountains to hunt together, so she had to give the Qi Drawing Art to Aunt Tian, asking her to pass it on.

After leaving the Tian household, Bai Sui went back to get her bamboo basket and machete, and also headed up the mountain.

This time she planned to go deeper, and for that she brought some dry rations.

What is learned on paper is ultimately shallow; the enhancement of theory and realm must be paired with practice.

Moreover, her cultivation level was rising too quickly; she needed to lay a solid foundation. Otherwise, having mere strength improvement without knowing how to apply it would be in vain.

This time entering the mountains, Bai Sui prepared to go to even more sparsely populated areas. For one, without outsiders disturbing, she could freely unleash her techniques without worrying about exposing herself; for another, the deep mountains and old forests had various wild beasts, perfect for practice!

Of course, Bai Sui wanted to practice on ordinary wild beasts. As for demonic beasts or spirit beasts, forget it; she wasn't arrogant enough to use them for practice.

You have to know, even the lowest first-order demonic beast is equivalent to a mortal cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining. Using them for practice is like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth, binding one's own hands and offering oneself as a "delicacy." What selfless, cross-species dedication.

This was also why Bai Sui chose to go deep into "Spirit Water Peak" behind Spirit Water Village, rather than "Mengyang Mountain."

The former is ordinary dense forest, with relatively sparse spiritual energy, so basically no demonic beasts appear; the latter is covered by thick fog all year round, a branch vein of the Jade Pool Spirit Vein, with traces of demonic beasts, and it's said that several "fifth-order demonic beasts" roam the core area, equivalent to human cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, which even high-level cultivators must deal with cautiously.

At this moment, Bai Sui was carrying a bamboo basket and holding a machete, chopping off the branches blocking her way as if cutting vegetables.

The path was rugged and uphill; unknowingly, there were no traces of a trail left.

But as someone surnamed Zhou once said, originally there was no path, but when more people walk, it becomes a path.

Bai Sui was now the pioneer, blazing a trail through the steep hillside.

She rested when tired, drank water when thirsty, and unknowingly, she walked from morning until evening...

‘Mm, find a place to rest…’

Thinking this, her eyes scanned around, looking for a place to set up camp.

In Spirit Water Peak at night, even without worrying about demonic beasts, ordinary wild beasts still needed to be guarded against.

Bai Sui stopped beside a stream and found a slightly open area under a large tree. Then she chopped branches and began building a simple shelter.

In her previous life, she liked watching survival shows with Bear Grylls and Les Stroud, so she was familiar with some basic survival skills. Coupled with her cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refining, wielding the machete was swift and easy.

In no time, the shelter was completed.

The sky gradually darkened. Bai Sui took out her dry rations, ready to eat, when suddenly rustling sounds came from the grass not far away. She looked curiously and soon spotted a white figure.

A furry rabbit emerged from the grass, with a large tail twice its body length, plump and very cute.

‘Big-tailed Rabbit!’

A flash of delight crossed Bai Sui's face.

What a coincidence, just as she finished setting up her shelter, dinner immediately delivered itself to her.

This kind of big-tailed rabbit is a very silly and cute little animal, naturally carefree and not knowing to avoid danger. Moreover, its body is several times the size of an ordinary domestic rabbit, with a high meat yield; one can produce over ten jin of meat. If it weren't for their especially prolific breeding, they would definitely make the endangered species list!

Bai Sui licked her lips, moved her spiritual energy slightly, and with a whoosh, appeared behind the big-tailed rabbit.

Squeak!

Big-tailed rabbit, deceased!